Optimization of thermoelectric system for pavement energy harvesting

With the increasing emphasis on renewable resources and green technologies, energy harvesting from asphalt pavement has gained momentous attention in the recent years. Thermoelectric energy harvesting is one of the promising methods for collecting and transmitting solar energy into electrical power using temperature gradient along the pavement depth. However, the low energy conversion efficiency must be mitigated in order for this method to be viable for various practical applications. Henceforth, the objectives of this study are to investigate the key factors affecting the energy conversion efficiency and to derive optimal mechanical and circuit configurations. The goal is to compose a thermoelectric energy harvesting system tailored for the pavement application. The design under study is typical and it consists of a thermoelectric generator and thermally conductive rods for transferring heat. The effects of the generator type, circuit design, the shape of the conductive rod, and its insulation are investigated. The results indicate that the controlling of the heat transfer from the pavement to the thermoelectric generator is central to effective thermoelectric energy harvesting. Among the tested thermoelectric systems, the best device configuration yielded 42 mW; about 26 times higher power than the default case in this study.